Goldfeder Unveils Online Petition to End the Cross Bay Bridge Toll

November 14, 2011

Assemblyman Phillip Goldfeder (D–Far Rockaway) is encouraging residents of the 23rd Assembly District and neighboring communities to join the fight to end the Cross Bay Bridge toll by signing an online petition. As part of his campaign to end the toll, Assemblyman Goldfeder will deliver the petition to Governor Andrew Cuomo, the Chairman of the MTA and fellow members of the legislature.

“Residents of the Rockaways and Broad Channel have been saying it for years: the Cross Bay Bridge toll is a noose around the necks of hardworking residents and small businesses,” Goldfeder said. “This toll has to go. Period. I hope each and every resident in my district will sign the petition and together we will deliver a strong message to the MTA."

The present-day bridge, built in 1970, has the distinction of being the only intra-borough toll bridge in New York City. For the residents of Broad Channel and the Rockaways, this means paying a toll to go to and from work, to drop-off and pick-up kids at school, visit the police precinct, local post office and more.

“The bridge toll is just another tax on local residents. It’s as simple as that,” Goldfeder said. “It's putting the business owners in my district at a real disadvantage. I’ve spoken with dozens of small business owners whose customers tell them that they aren’t willing to pay the toll to go shopping or out to eat, especially in this economy.”

According to an MTA spokesperson in 2009, the Cross Bay Bridge costs about $4 million annually to operate.i The latest figures available on the MTA website show the toll brought in nearly $14 million in revenue in 2010.ii